Childs, Gladwyn Murray. Kinship and
Character of the Ovimbundu: Being a Description of the Social Structure and
Individual Development of the Ovimbundu of Angola, with Observations concerning
the Bearing on the Enterprise of Christian Missions of Certain Phases of the
Life and Culture. London: Dawsons of Pall Mall, 1969. Print.

Edwards, Adrian C. The Ovimbundu
under Two Sovereignities a Study of Social Control and Social Change among a
People of Angola. London: Published for the International African Institute
by the Oxford UP, 1962. Print.

The environment and whether
or not it is being used properly largely affect the Ovimbundu culture. Many of
the Ovimbundu people depend on the land to support them. However, forest and
woodland make up just fewer than fifty percent of Angola and these areas are
being destroyed over time. Deforestation is due to commercial logging, subsistence
agriculture, trade in charcoal, and forced migration. Land degradation is also
an issue that is being caused by unsustainable agriculture, mining, and
overgrazing of rangelands. Wildlife was also widely destroyed because of the
civil war in Angola and the massive amount of destruction that came along with
it.

http://hj2009per2angola.weebly.com/indiginous-ethnic-groups.html

Fishing
is also another large aspect of Ovimbundu survival and coastal degradation and
overfishing are threatening their culture. Overfishing by local and even foreign fleets is threatening
fish stocks and even going as far as causing extinction of some of the species
of fish. Many of the Ovimbundu live along the western coast of Angola and
fishing is how they make their living. Pollution from offshore oil production
is also becoming a threat to the marine environment of Angola and causing
issues for the Ovimbundu. If both the land and the marine environment continue
to be destroyed, the Ovimbundu will have a hard time surviving.

Another
factor that might become an issue for the Ovimbundu is the climate change.
Reports suggest that the temperature of Angola is rising at the rate of 0.33
degrees Celsius per decade and annual rainfall is decreasing at an average rate
of 2mm per month per decade. This may cause coastal lowlands to become vulnerable
to rising sea levels over time. Also rising sea temperature could potentially
threaten many fish species over time. All of these elements put together are
working against the survival of this culture.

Many of the Ovimbundu were
forced to take out labor contracts from 1961 to 1974 and become migrants
because of the increase in cost of living. About twenty-five percent of the
Ovimbundu able-bodied males were migrating on labor contracts to coffee
plantations for one to two years. Due to government wartime policies that took
place from 1969 to 1973 cost of living increased by seventy-nine percent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angolan_War_of_Independence

Another
issue during this time was that in certain regions of the highlands, officials
had made it easier for Ovimbundu land to be purchased by Europeans. At this
point in time the Ovimbundu even became paid labor for the Europeans on their
own land. After the UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola)
fought against the Portuguese from 1966 to 1974, the Angolan civil war took
place from 1975 to 2002.

During
the civil war the cities of Huambo and Kuito were almost completely destroyed.
Both of these cities were in the Ovimbundu region. This caused many of the
Ovimbundu to flee to other cities. Some of these cities were still in their own
area but some were also in very distant areas. After the civil war ended in
2002 many of the cities have been reconstructed or are being rebuilt. However, even
though many of the Ovimbundu have returned to their original land since the war
has ended, a lot still remain in the cities they fled to outside of their
homeland. This has caused a lot of the Ovimbundu to now be scattered all over
different parts of Angola.

Angola is divided into
regions based on the different tribes or cultures. There are more than one
hundred different ethnic groups and languages in Angola. The three largest
groups of Angola are the Ovimbundu, Bakongo, and Mbundu. The Ovimbundu are
located in west-central Angola and are located south of the Mbundu. Bordering
the Ovimbundu on the east is the Nganguela and on the south there are the
Herero, Ovambo, and Nyaneka-Humbe.

The
Mbundu border the Ovimbundu to the north and are the second largest ethnic
group in Angola, the first being the Ovimbundu. The language the Mbundu speak
is Kimbundu and make up about twenty-fiver percent of the population in Angola.
The Mbundu were one of the MPLA’s (People’s Movement for the Liberation of
Angola) strongest supporters. This was because the president of the MPLA was
the son of an Mbundu. Today these people can be found in Luanda, Bengo,
Malanje, Cuanza Norte, and northern Cuanza Sul provinces.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovimbundu

To
the east of the Ovimbundu are the Nganguela. This is a small ethnic group, but
Nganguela is actually a term given to the people living to the east and
southeast by the Ovimbundu. These people actually hate being called this term
because it can have a slight derogatory meaning when applied by the western ethnic
group. These people live off of the breeding small animals, agriculture, and
the gathering of wild fruit, honey, and other food items. Some people actually
believe them to be an extension of the Ovimbundu because they live so close but
this group is actually very distinct when it comes to culture, language, and
social identity.

The Herero, Ovambo, and Nyaneka-Humbe create the
southern border for the Ovimbundu. All of these groups put together still make
up only a very small portion of the overall population in Angola. The Herero
are not like other Bantu groups in that they primarily make their living
tending livestock instead of farming. The Ovambo and the Nyaneka-Humbe are also
cattle herders but they farm as well.

Overall the Ovimbundu are very much the dominant
ethnicity in the country of Angola. However, when it comes to how these people
relate with other ethnic groups I was not able to find much information at all.

Angola has 899 different species of birds. Seven hundred and forty-six
of these species are land birds, twenty-seven are sea birds, and one hundred
and forty-one are water birds. Also two hundred and four of these species are
migratory. Angola does not have any species of birds that are extinct or any
species of birds that are extinct in the wild. Only one species is critically
threatened and this is known as the Tristan Albatross. However, fourteen
species are endangered and eleven are vulnerable. Also twenty species are near
threatened. Four of the more common species of birds found in Angola are the
African Openbill, the Village Weaver, the African Darter, the White-faced
Whistling-Duck, and the Cattle Egret. Benguela, which is part of the Ovimbundu
region, has thirty-four different species of birds. Two of these birds also
include the Long-tailed Cormorant and the Cattle Egret.

This
species can be found in freshwater wetlands such as swamps, marshes, rice
fields, the backwaters of lakes or rivers, and flood plains. It can also be
found in areas such as grassland or moist savanna and even forest clearings on
occasion. This species diet mainly consists of snails, freshwater mussels,
frogs, crabs, worms, fish, and insects.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_Cormorant

Long-tailed Cormorant

The Long-tailed Cormorant can be found in areas where there are sheltered waters with trees, vegetation, and sloping shores. This species also likes floodwaters and freshwater habitats excluding fast-flowing streams. They like slow flowing rivers, creeks, swamps, lagoons, ponds, lakes, and thickets. When it comes to diet, the Long-tailed Cormorant mainly eats fish but also will eat frogs, aquatic insects, mollusks, crustaceans, and even sometimes, small birds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_darter

African Darter

The
African Darter can be found in shallow, inland freshwater, slow flowing rivers,
and lakes. It can also sometimes be found in reservoirs, swamps, and streams.
This species usually avoids marine habitats but rarely can be found in coastal
lagoons and shallow tidal inlets. The African Darter needs trees and bushes for
roosting and has a diet that mainly consists of fish but will also eat aquatic
insects, water snakes, crustaceans, amphibians, and mollusks.

Cattle Egret

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_egret

The
Cattle Egret is found in open grassy areas. These areas include open savanna
grassland, meadows, dry fields, livestock pastures, flood plains, rice fields,
freshwater swamps, shallow marshes, and even ponds, small rivers, and streams.
This species may inhabit marine or forested areas but this is rather rare. The
Cattle Egret’s diet mainly consists of insects. This includes beetles, locusts,
dragonflies, grasshoppers, and centipedes. However, frogs, mollusks, fish,
worms, spiders, lizards, small birds, rodents, and crustaceans are also eaten.

The Ovimbundu world-view is
determined greatly by their religious beliefs and practices. The Ovimbundu
overwhelmingly follow Christianity but some also mix these beliefs with
indigenous African religions. The Ovimbundu acknowledge the existence of one
high God. They believe that this one high God is the creator of all things, is
all knowing, all-powerful, sustains creation, supports justice, and rules over
the entire universe. However, the Ovimbundu also mix these beliefs with
traditional African beliefs because they acknowledge different spirits and the
impact they have on their lives.

Traditional
African religions acknowledge both ancestral spirits and nature spirits. Once
an ancestor dies their spirit continues to be present in the lives of both their
family and community. It is believed that these ancestral spirits communicate
with God on behalf of those still living. However, these spirits must be
honored with appropriate rituals and members of their family or community must
not engage in inappropriate behavior if these spirits are expected to look
favorably upon them. These spirits are looked up to for assistance during times
of economic and social misfortune but if the spirits are displeased with their
families or communities they will withdraw their protection and willingness to
seek God’s blessing on them.

Nature
spirits are also a large part of traditional African religions. Nature spirits
are those that live in nature such as the sky, river, lakes, rocks, trees,
mountains, and oceans. The spirits that live in the skies control rain, which
is extremely important because rain is essential in the raising of crops and
animals. Other water spirits that may live in river, lakes, or oceans control
the fish and wildlife that live in these bodies of water, which are a food
source for the people. Both nature spirits and ancestral spirits are considered
to be good because they help provide for and protect the people. The people
honor these good spirits by practicing different ceremonies and rituals.

Just
like many other religions the Ovimbundu believe in good spirits and bad
spirits. God and good spirits will bless the people because of good behavior
but they will also cause suffering and misfortune if inappropriate behavior
takes place in individuals or communities. It is believed that bad or evil
spirits can cause suffering such as illness, famine, or drought. During these
times individuals and communities are made aware of their bad behavior and they
also look to good spirits to provide protection against these evil spirits.

The Ovimbundu mainly make
their living based off of where they live in Angola. The Ovimbundu, as
previously mentioned, live in either the central highlands and along the
plateau, or along the western coast of Angola. Those that live along the
western coast mainly make their living off of the marine environment. The main
industry in this area is fishing.

Those
that live along the plateau and the central highlands mainly focus on
agriculture. The main economic activity in this area is from farming, which
consists of crops like rice, coffee, corn, and beans, as well as various
others. The Ovimbundu also hunt and raise livestock, which included cows,
sheep, and goats. The amount of cattle that a family has is actually a way of
measuring wealth among the Ovimbundu, however very few families have large
herds that they own.

http://angolarising.blogspot.com/

The
Ovimbundu family generally consists on one male, his wife or several wives, and
their dependent children. The men and sometimes children will do the hunting
and the farming. Some children also go to school but it is once again only
available for certain families. After the civil war many families and the
culture altogether continue to struggle because a large portion of their land
was destroyed during the war and this has brought about much poverty in Angola.